Watch: Hyderabad contractors, retired employees protest over pending bills and benefits

Contractors and retired employees staged a protest at Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s chambers in Hyderabad on Monday, alleging delays in clearing long-pending bills and retirement benefits. Police prevented them from meeting the Deputy Chief Minister, leading to heated arguments

Hyderabad: Irked over the delay in clearing their long-pending bills and extending benefits, contractors and retired employees staged a protest at Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s chambers in the Secretariat on Monday.

The contractors and retired employees said that despite several years having passed, the government was failing to clear their pending bills and retirement benefits. They said all attempts to meet the Deputy Chief Minister personally and make an appeal had proved futile.

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A family member of a retired employee said the employee had passed away on August 3, 2024, but not a single rupee had been cleared towards his retirement benefits.

“How can a family survive without the retirement benefits?” the family member asked.

As police personnel denied them permission to meet the Deputy Chief Minister, heated arguments broke out between the protesters and the police.

“Officials and police personnel are not permitting us to meet the Deputy Chief Minister. Unless we are given an appointment, we will not leave the Secretariat,” the retired employees said.

In several cases, contractors complained that though token numbers were being issued, their bills were not being cleared.

The protest was not an isolated incident. On September 17, several retired employees had queued up at the Finance Department in the Secretariat and appealed to officials to clear their pending retirement benefits.